Dr. Steve Martin, dean of the College of Pharmacy at Ohio Northern, says that around 30 to 50 million people are expected to get the flu every year. He recommends to help with those numbers, people 6 months and older should get out and receive the flu shot, especially as this flu season looks like it may be a rough one for some people.

Allen County Public Health is reporting 3 to 5 cases a day but that does not include any home testing that people are not reporting that is positive. The severity of the symptoms on a whole is less but that is not to say it can’t knock you off your feet. Health officials say the virus is still unpredictable with strains that are appearing to be more contagious, and they are prepared if there is an uptick.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 98% of the U.S. is now at what they say is a “Low” or “Medium” transmission rate of the Coronavirus. In Ohio, most of the state is labeled as low with a few southeastern counties still in a “Medium” transmission rate. Here in Allen County, we are a “Low” transmission rate with a current 7-day case rate of 32.2 per 100,000 persons. In mid-January, there was a high of 1,636 cases.

Allen County Public Health is reporting that cases numbers are steadily going down. There have been only 50 reported cases in the last week, with 3 deaths and 11 hospitalizations. Although numbers are down, we are still considered a high transmission rate.

The Allen County Health Commissioner announced Wednesday that county COVID numbers have dropped. Just as fast as we spiked with the OMICRON variant cases, we are now declining in the number of cases being reported. Unfortunately, there are still COVID-related deaths being reported. It was just a week or so ago when we were seeing 300-plus cases per day and now we are around 20 cases being reported daily.

Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith, along with local health officials, announced a heart month awareness luncheon to bring women together to learn about this silent killer. The American Heart Association reports that heart disease kills one woman every 80 seconds making it the number one killer of women. This “Lima Women have Heart” luncheon is designed to bring women, health professionals, and heart disease survivors together to educate, learn and support one another.

Ohio Department of Health Director Doctor Bruce Vanderhoff says that hospitalizations of covid cases have dropped by 25% in the past 16 days. While that is good, hospitals are still being strained by the pandemic. The National Guard is still moving around the state assisting as the omicron variant remains rampant hitting the state in waves. While numbers are decreasing, they remain at high transmission levels.

As the northeast part of the state was hit hard at the beginning of the month, they are starting to see a slight decrease. But Ohio is still seeing a record number of daily reported cases of more than 20,000 which is by no means out of the woods with the virus. The surge is shifting, working its way through the state but health officials say it will always be here.

Allen County is seeing a slight increase in reported cases, and they expect those numbers to rise as those contracting the virus at family gatherings are just coming to light. Allen County Public Health reports there have been no confirmed cases of the Omicron variant but that doesn’t mean it’s not here and the severity of the COVID virus differs.

Health officials are watching to see if this past holiday weekend will trigger another spike in coronavirus cases. On three consecutive days l…